A multi-car crash with injuries has shut down the express toll lanes on southbound I-405 near NE 8th Street in Bellevue, sending troopers and fire crews scrambling to the scene during the Wednesday afternoon commute. Drivers in the area are being told to expect delays and to use caution as emergency responders work to clear the roadway.
The collision was first reported shortly before 3:45 p.m. Wednesday by WSDOT Traffic, which posted that the toll lanes were blocked due to a multi-car injury collision and that troopers and Bellevue Fire were on scene. WSDOT Traffic, which monitors conditions across King and Snohomish counties on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., urged drivers to use caution through the area and advised anyone with information about additional road hazards to call 911.
Bellevue Fire is providing emergency rescue and medical response at the scene, working alongside Washington State Patrol District 2, which handles traffic enforcement and incident investigation for major highway crashes across the greater Puget Sound region, according to the City of Bellevue. Any driver approaching the scene is legally required to move over or slow down for the flashing lights of both agencies' vehicles under Washington's Move Over Law, RCW 46.61.212, which carries a mandatory $214 fine for violations.
A Costly Bottleneck for Toll-Paying Commuters
The blocked lanes are part of the I-405 Express Toll system, which charges drivers dynamic rates between $1 and $15 on weekdays from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. to keep traffic moving reliably through the corridor. State law under RCW 47.56.880 requires those toll lanes to maintain an average speed of at least 45 mph during 90 percent of peak travel hours, a benchmark that incidents like Wednesday's crash can quickly undermine.
The stakes for drivers are real: state transportation figures from May showed the I-405 and SR 167 toll lanes generated nearly $40 million in revenue over the prior year, with tolls hitting the $15 maximum during roughly 80 percent of morning commutes on the busiest segments, according to MyNorthwest. Those numbers have officials weighing whether toll caps could climb even higher.
NE 8th Street Interchange a Recurring Trouble Spot
The stretch of southbound I-405 near NE 8th Street sits at a braided-ramp interchange completed in 2012 to separate entering and exiting traffic and reduce weaving near downtown Bellevue, per the state's project record. Despite that design, the corridor has a documented history of major disruptions: a fatal crash near NE 8th Street in July blocked traffic for more than three hours, a Washington State Patrol statement noted, and a morning crash in the same stretch back in November 2022 also blocked multiple lanes and required an extended trooper response, according to Patch.
The location also falls within WSDOT's active $725 million I-405 Renton to Bellevue Widening and Express Toll Lanes Project, a megaproject expanding the freeway and building a dual toll lane system meant to connect separate toll segments into one continuous 50-mile corridor by the end of this year. Ongoing construction activity on the corridor adds another layer of complexity for drivers already navigating high-density traffic near downtown Bellevue.
Part of a Pattern of Eastside Commute Disruptions
Wednesday's crash is the latest in a string of I-405 incidents that have rattled Eastside commuters this year. Just three months ago, a morning collision on southbound I-405 near NE 85th Street in Kirkland blocked three lanes plus an HOV lane, causing backups that lasted up to two hours, KIRO 7 News reported. Hoodline has also covered other recent disruptions on the corridor, including a fatal I-90 wreck near Bellevue and a hit-and-run investigation that snarled morning traffic in Renton.
No further details on the number of vehicles involved, the extent of injuries, or an estimated reopening time have been released as of Wednesday afternoon. Drivers heading toward downtown Bellevue on southbound I-405 should anticipate delays and consider alternate routes until the toll lanes reopen.
